Richard Petty Biography

Stock car racer extraordinaire Richard Petty enjoyed not one but four distinct careers. In addition to chalking up a remarkable series of racing honors that included winning a Sprint Cup seven times and winning the Daytona 500 seven times (among countless other laurels), Petty parlayed his celebrity from these events into a lucrative and highly visible stint as a corporate spokesperson for brands including Goody's Headache Powder, Pepsi, and the STP motor oil company. Petty also embarked on a political career and -- as early as 1965 -- enjoyed periodic film roles, including many cameos as himself. Features included the sports dramas [[Feature~V113699~Thunder in Dixie~thunderindixie]] (1965) and [[Feature~V87858~Corky~corky]] (1972), a biopic of his own life and racing career starring himself and entitled [[Feature~V105983~43: The Petty Story~43:thepettystory]] (1974) and (appropriately enough) the Disney-Pixar CG-animated family film [[Feature~V290414~Cars~cars]] (2006), in which he voiced an automobile named The King. In 2008, Petty cameoed as himself to the [[Performer~P15189~Kevin Costner~kevincostner]] political comedy [[Feature~V397868~Swing Vote~swingvote]]. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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